Sun Pharma net profit dips 11.5%

Sun Pharmaceutical Industries, India’s largest drug firm in terms of market capitalisation, posted a 11.49 dip in net profit during the quarter ended September 30, compared with the same period last year, due to regulatory issues and the resultant loss of revenue for its US subsidiary, Caraco Pharmaceuticals.

Sun reported a net profit of Rs 453.81 crore during the quarter, against Rs 512.77 crore in the corresponding quarter last year, according to the consolidated results the company announced today.

Consolidated income showed an almost flat growth — Rs 1,185.17 crore against Rs 1,177.84 crore — in the same quarter of last year. However, these numbers bettered analyst expectations of a net profit of Rs 315-325 crore on a turnover of about Rs 935-950 crore.

Analysts said despite regulatory issues in the US for its subsidiary, Caraco, growth in domestic business, Caraco’s better sales than what was clocked in the immediate previous quarter and the patent settlement with Forest Laboratories during the recent quarter helped the company post better than expected profits.

Caraco had recently announced second quarter sales of $78 million (Rs 368.7 crore), up 63 per cent from the immediate preceding quarter and a net profit of $6.7 million (Rs 31.6 crore). In the corresponding quarter of last year, Caraco had net sales of $122 million with an $8.6-million net profit.

Sun Pharma’s exports during the quarter were lower by 2.43 per cent at Rs 709.68 crore, compared with the corresponding quarter in the previous year.